


We're Both Yellow

by GreenPhoenix3



Category: Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Based on a Tumblr Post, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 18:33:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18349346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenPhoenix3/pseuds/GreenPhoenix3
Summary: Based on Youkaiyume's post: What if Cybertronians saw color when they met their sparkmate? And then Bee tries to hide it after he realizes that it was Charlie that gave him color.





	We're Both Yellow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [YoukaiYume](https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoukaiYume/gifts).



_Click!_ That’s what made him start. Something in his mind clicked as he entered his main form. Then he was met with, wrong. He didn’t recognize or know anything around him. Fear filled his processor and he tried backing away from, whatever was in front of him. Something covered his vision, blinding him to his surroundings. He stumbled trying to get rid of whatever filled his vision. It was, an angry thing that he had to fight with to get it off. He finally got it off and hid _._ But there was nowhere to hide, so he hoped cowering away from, the thing, her, worked. It seemed to gain the attention of another her, this one older and slightly different. Somehow his body changed into what appeared to be some vehicle mode. The other, her talked with aggressive vocals while the one he first saw talked with odd inflections in her vocals. Soon, the other her was gone and he was left with his her.

“You still in there ?” She touched him and something inside him loosened, like a weight or a tension. “Okay, a little jumpy, sorry.” He couldn’t see her, he wanted to see. His body changed again, and he could see. She seemed, scared and he felt it. So he tried cowering again. He just wanted to hide. To get away from the terror. The terror he felt from her suddenly changed, but it increased his own even more. He couldn’t understand what was going on. Why could he feel her, why was everything so bright and unfamiliar. “Hi.” Cautious vocals from whatever was in front of him regained his attention. The her was approaching him.

 _Get back._ He tried saying but it sounded off. So he made himself smaller. She mimicked him and it made him feel a bit safer.

“What are you?” She asked and he thought about it. He didn’t know what he was, who he was. All that came up was an emptiness. Something was supposed to be in his head, something had to be in his head, but it wasn’t. “Can you speak?”

 _I, I think,_ His attempt at words drifted off when he spotted the weapon. _No!_ It was silver and pointed. A flash of pointy metal in his throat, pulling something away from him, terrified him. His tried scooting away from her more, covering what was left of his throat. Quickly, she put the weapon away and surrendered to him.

“I won’t hurt you.” She said, but he felt the sincerity in her. It was as solid as the ground under him, and oddly enough the fear that still lingered was suppressed by her sincerity. He observed her as she breathed heavily, trying to hold herself still. Everything about her seemed soft. Even her dark eyes and hair looked, soft. But her trembling hands looked to be the softest thing about her and they were covered in such a calm thing. He wondered what they felt like. Slowly he went closer to them. He glanced at her when her fear lessened and her curiosity peaked, but he continued his way to her hands.

 _Click._ Even before he reached them, something in him felt put back into place. He felt a bit more balanced, a bit more completed. She gasped and amazement filled her. As he watched her eyes sparkle and relished this unknown softness, he wished he could’ve done the same.

“Can you, can you understand me?”  She asked quietly. He nodded, thankful that she hadn’t moved her hand. Her other hand reached under his jaw and he leaned into it. “What are you?” He shrugged as the emptiness from before crept back. “Where did you come from?” Something in him hurt and he backed away from that question, leaving the comfort of her hands. “Okay, it’s okay.” She said in attempt to calm him, but he knew she was more scared than him. He was just, empty and hurt. She wasn’t. That’s when it dawned on him that he didn’t even know who or what she was. He pointed to her. “You like my shirt?” Already he was missing his voice. “You a metal fan?” Bee let his irritation simmer for a bit before he tried again, this time touching her lightly. “Oh, me, who am I?”

 _Yes._ He said, or was it a beep, and nodded.

“Oh, I’m Charlie.” Something in him fluttered as he watched her pretty lips move and her dark eyes sparkle. “Charlie Watson. I’m 18 today.” He enjoyed the way her, Charlie’s, mouth moved the dark stars on her face. “It’s actually my birthday.” Involuntary, he let out a sigh as the fear in her disappeared. “What’s your name?”

 _I, I don’t._ He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the haunting emptiness.

“You don’t know or you don’t have a name?” Somehow she knew what was going on in his head even though he didn’t have a voice.

 _Even if I did remember, I don’t think I had one._ Shame made him look away, hoping that if he hid from her, he could hide his feelings too.

“You sound like a little bumblebee.” He wondered what bumblebee even meant, but something about the word felt nice. Or maybe it was her voice. “I’m gonna call you that from now.” He glanced at her curious at what she was doing. “Bumblebee.” At the gentle call his attention was on her. “It matches your outfit too.” She gave him a small but genuine smile and it was then that he vowed to protect the woman that gave his name. He vowed to keep the smile on the woman who made the emptiness go away. Bumblebee vowed to keep Charlie Watson’s beautiful brown eyes sparkling.

* * *

Bumblebee cradled Charlie closer to his chest as he replayed the memory of their first meeting. How the addition of color was not significant, when it was a simple vow. Now though, he remembered his colorless life of war. He remembered his life before Charlie, and he almost wished he didn’t have his memories. The weight of the truth was heavier than the messages and information generals entrusted to him when he was a courier. Charlie was his sparkmate.

The glistening stars that lightened the purple sky seemed to glow brighter, as if to mock his revelation. Before Charlie, the night sky was a black void, sometimes covered by a lifeless gray fog. When he heard other bots talk about color he was one of the few that were curious but he never wanted to see them. One, he figured his programmed heightened visual sensors would overwork themselves because of the new stimuli. Two, he has seen the broken looks as he confirmed to bots that already knew what he had to say. He hated those messages. The empty ‘I know’ replies made him fear that bond. Yes, color sounded cool, but that meant he would have something to lose. In a war that seemed never ending, he didn’t want to lose something so precious, so it would be easier to not have it. Then the war took his home, his voice, and his memories. Bumblebee let out a huff at the irony that when he literally lost everything he found the most important thing. The one thing he didn’t want, a sparkmate.

Despite the bitter irony, the looming fear, and the overwhelming emotions, he wouldn’t change anything. Because it allowed him to meet her, Charlie Watson. He took this time to observe and memorize her. She was sound asleep in a little alcove he made with his car seats, below his chest. Her dark oil brown hair was splayed out as she breathed heavily. It was a heated area, so she was dry and warm, but her softly tan hand held his servo close to her. He was glad that his heightened visual receptors could still see the dark stars that were scattered across her softly tan skin. It amazed him how soft she was, and that softness held a fire and strength that no one could quench. Maybe that was why she was so guarded. If anything, it made him admire her more, because she chose him. A soldier, a scout who had forgotten his identity to see that fire. He could feel his spark reach for that fire even now as she slept. It wanted to merge with her but would she accept that? Could she? Accepting him as a soldier was one thing, but such a lasting bond as sparkmates? He was not even aware if humans had such a bond. He felt a spike of energy in his spark as a Charlie’s hand caressed his finger.

“Bee.” Charlie murmured in her sleep and pulled his servo even closer. Heat filled him as he felt each curve of her body. There was a dip at the bottom of her back that he gravitated towards. She let out an odd rumble (hum) as he touched it and a smile came to her face as she leaned into his touch. An image of her soft tan skin flushed with a light pink as she touched his spark and he caressed each dark star on her body came into his processor. His spark thrummed at the image and reached for her. He let out a wheezy exhale and closed his optics. He would have to deal with that memory track, later.

* * *

Later never came, because she didn’t come with him. She couldn’t. At first it hurt, but he knew she was right. His comrades needed him and with a war looming around his kind, it was not safe for her. In the past year that he left her, he fought three ships of seekers, a pack of beastformers, and now they were on the hunt for Starscream’s ship. Add in the process of gaining a relationship with the humans and trying not to alert the world of their presence it was hard. Granted, other Autobots had come with Optimus: Ratchet, Arcee, Wheeljack, Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl, and Elita-One. It was, nice to have help, but Bee couldn’t help but distance himself from them. It wasn’t voluntary, it was just, easier. Of course he still smiled and joked with them, especially when he may have helped one of Wheeljack’s inventions blow up. He even raced with Jazz at least once a solar cycle ( **a month-ish. I’m not good with Cybertronian time** ). It was just his lack of a vocal synthesizer made it hard to communicate and, he kept his ability to see color from them. It wasn’t a big deal. They were in a war and didn’t have time for helping him deal with sparkmating with a human or just sparkmating in general. Plus, he didn’t even know how to talk about it when he didn’t have a voice. So he just didn’t. He was fine anyway. Yeah, it was hard to recharge and his sensory nodes felt off. So what if the pitying looks the others gave him because he was a youngling that couldn’t see color and couldn’t talk bothered (irritated) him. He would deal.

At least that’s what he told himself as he sat on the edge of the canyon outside of their base in Jasper, Nevada, 460 miles from Brighton Falls. He let out a groan and put his helm in his servos. He just wished he could see her. It was her birthday, sending her a song wasn’t enough. He wanted to celebrate his recent victory with her. He wanted to see her smile, not images he took. He wanted to hear her voice, not a replay he listened to on nights where his sensory receptors buzzed and kept him awake. He missed Charlie.

“What are you doing out here Bee?” Arcee’s gentle voice broke through Bumblebee’s musings. He turned and had to refocus his optics a couple of times. Arcee’s glaring pink and white armor were harsh on his visual receptors.

 _I just want to walk in the sun._ Bumblebee played. Arcee’s optics widened.

“You want to walk into a star?” She asked slowly. Bumblebee looked away and towards the sun.

 _Everybody wants a thrill._ Bumblebee shrugged as his mind listed that as an option to ignore everything.

“That’s death not a thrill.” Arcee stated and Bumblebee could feel her concern nudging his EM field. He shrugged it away. “Bumblebee,” this time she came and sat down next to him, her helm resting against her bended knee. “What’s wrong?” A million responses lined up in his processor. His sensory nodes kept buzzing or overloaded, his throat still burned and only produced buzzes whenever he attempted just a word, they still hadn’t found out why Starscream was on the planet, the human government saw him as a menace, and he sparkmated with a human.

 _I’m...fine._ He put together. Arcee narrowed her optics and her worry pushed at his EM field more. He held still, mostly, his digits kept twitching. Arcee let out a sigh.

“I know that you can’t talk, but don’t forget that I’m a communications expert. I see that you are hiding something. You’re more, as Jack says, squirrelly.” Bumblebee straightened at that and huffed in retaliation. He was not, a small fidgeting animal. Granted if he turned to look at Arcee, he would have to look up at her. “And while he is a great soldier and mechanic, he’s incredibly dense.”

 _Frag._ Bumblebee let out a series of low chirps. Arcee chuckled and Bumblebee glared at her. They both knew she was right. Jackson ‘Jack’ Darby was an amazing partner for Arcee. He was charismatic, nice, loyal, and a total airhead when it came to emotions. Everyone on the base knew this. Even General Fowler had commented on Jack’s obliviousness when Jack called Elita-One, Optimus’ good friend. If Jack commented about Bumblebee, then he must have looked worse than he thought.

“Yeah. We all noticed, but we thought it was about your voice, or Cliffjumper.” Bumblebee flinched away from Arcee at the mention of Cliffjumper. While it was hard for him (for he lost another friend to this war, and it seemed fate wanted to remind him that the war will not rest until it takes everything away from him), he knew it must’ve been killing Arcee. Cliffjumper was her mate. To have color, then for it to be taken away, to have that presence gone. Bumblebee would die if Charlie did.

“It’s not that bad.” Arcee said quietly, bringing Bumblebee out of his thoughts. She was staring at the horizon, her arms wrapped around herself tightly. “At first it was though. I felt a snap and the color disappeared. It hurt my optics, but the way my spark surged and he wasn’t there, that hurt the most. I knew what the loss of colors met. I knew he was gone.” Before Charlie, the emptiness in Arcee’s vocals would have made him squirm but now, his spark thrummed and he had to squeeze his digits to keep from transforming to go to Charlie. He closed his optics and tried to listen to Arcee, to be there for her. “I didn’t even knew what Decepticons killed him. So today, I almost put the mission, Jack in danger for simple information.” The guilt in her voice and EM field was so strong Bumblebee could feel it. He opened his optics and turned them to her.

 _You...learned…..that’s….all that matters._ Bumblebee strung together slowly. Arcee turned to him and smiled softly.

“I did. And I learned a lot. Like the Decepticons that killed him were intelligence officer Shatter and her partner Dropkick.” Bumblebee let out an involuntary chirp in shock. “At first I was a bit mad, but then Jack told me that one I shouldn’t be mad at you since you seem to be having a tough time, and two, what was I going to do if they were alive. Throw away the war and hunt them down?” Arcee let out another sigh. “What’s worse is I told him maybe.” That’s when it hit Bumblebee. He wasn’t the only one hiding from the party. He sensed tension between the two, granted everyone sensed the odd tension between the two. Today , it seemed stretched. Now he knew why. “I knew the moment I said it, a part of me was willing to abandon all of you, him, for revenge. I hurt the only thing that brings some color back, that eases my spark, just for something that was already taken care of.” Arcee looked to the ground in shame and anger rolled off of her.

 _I can promise you tomorrow but I can’t bring back yesterday._ Bumblebee played to stop the harsh EM field from spreading. It calmed down some as silence took over.

“I should go talk to Jack.” Arcee said softly and Bumblebee gave her a thumbs up. She let out a chuckle and a small smile. “Thanks for everything Bumblebee.” She said as she stood up. Bumblebee waved her off. “You coming?” Bumblebee knew that he should join her, but his sensory nodes were still buzzing.

 _Drive._ Her eyes narrowed at his response.

“I know we all take advantage of your newfound listening skills, but we are willing to try to listen to you too. Don’t forget that.” Bumblebee nodded, but he knew it would take a miracle for him to willingly tell someone what happened. Even if he had a voice.

* * *

It actually didn’t take a miracle for him to admit his problems. All it took was Charlie and a slip of his tongue.

If Bumblebee were to pinpoint the start of when everything started to unravel, it would be the moment she arrived. Ratchet wanted an assistant for the finer detailing that he had minicons do back on Cybertron. Jack was ideal since he was the squadron’s mechanic, but Jack had to be with Cade and Wheeljack (after the two’s third invention gone wrong, Jack was put there to supervise). Raf was next, but he didn’t want to, so Agent Burns and General Fowler had to find another person to fill the position. Despite knowing this, when Charlie appeared at the base, a couple months after her 19th birthday, Bumblebee literally dropped the thing he was holding for Ratchet (‘BUMBLEBEE!!! I needed that!’) and drove to her. He transformed and rolled to a squat in front of her.

“Bumblebee.” Her voice made his spark settle, but the sight of her smile and how it made the dark stars on her face move made it thrum too. In that moment he forget about the Autobots, the Decepticons, the war, everything but her and his need to feel her. She seemed to feel the same, for her hands reached for the sides of his helms. He put himself in her softly tan calloused yet delicate hands.

 _CLICK_ Again his optics closed as he relished the peace her touch brought him. He leaned his forehead against hers. _Charlie._ He buzzed and the remainder of his vocals twinged in pain, but he didn’t care because Charlie was here.

“I missed you too.” She whispered. Burns subtly (‘You can kiss your car later kid. Let’s go.) broke them apart, and when she left, her cheeks with a dusting of rose pink against the soft tan making the dark stars even darker, her middle finger pointed in the air as she saluted Burns, Bumblebee let out a sigh. Then he felt optics on him. He turned to see Ratchet and Wheeljack staring at him, their optics wide. An awkward tension grew. Bumblebee tapped his digits against his leg and pointed towards Raf’s general direction before walking off.

* * *

From then on though, things like that kept happening. He came back from a hard battle, he needed to feel her. She had a long day with Ratchet or something seemed to bring her down, she would find him and he would drop whatever he was doing to take her for a drive. He understood the cautious looks from the Autobots during these moments, but then they grew. He felt them when they had prank wars with Cade and Wheeljack, or he watched Charlie work, or when he caught her watching him train. It came to a head when Jazz and Prowl approached him one day. He was listening to Raf spout codes and solutions to certain tech problems (he enjoyed seeing how Raf’s mind worked and sometimes Raf would ask for a drive to help him think).

“Hey techie, B.” Jazz waved to them, Prowl close behind. Bumblebee waved back as they came toward them. “Can we speak to ya for quick nano-cycle, B?” Jazz’s vocals sounded light but Bumblebee could feel the edge of concern in his EM field.

“Sure.” Rafael waved them away, too deep in his work to notice anything outside of his computer screen. Prowl quickly grabbed Bumblebee and pulled him away. Jazz quickly followed with a thanks yelled behind them. Bumblebee was pulled into a meeting room and the door was locked.

“What’s your relationship with Charlie?” Prowl interrogated immediately. Bumblebee couldn’t stop himself from jumping in surprise.

 _Re-relationship?_ He beeped nervously.

“Prowl!” Jazz growled as he came to face Bumblebee. “I thought we agreed to take the slow approach.”Jazz huffed out.

“I attempted to tell you that it would not work and you left determined to show me it would.” Prowl stated. Jazz glared and Bumblebee inched towards the door.

“Don’t.” They both said in unison. Bumblebee let his helm hang in exasperation.

 _Why can’t we be friends?_ Bumblebee played as he slowly turned around.

“Like Raf is a friend, Bee?” Jazz was leading the questioning and honestly Bumblebee was a bit more scared. Prowl caught him off guard, but Bumblebee was always a quick thinker. Jazz was cunning. He could have you so chatted up, you wouldn’t even realize you gave him what he wanted till after you said it.

 _She….was the…..first._ Bumblebee felt their suspicions raise.

“Then why do you seem to be functioning better?” Bumblebee knew Prowl noticed his more physical ailments. Praxians’ had more sensitive sensory nodes and when Bumblebee started training, it was revealed that despite not being Praxian, he had similar troubles. If the sparkmate bond affected anyone, it was Praxians. It settled those sensitive nodes. So of course Prowl would recognize how Bumblebee was less, reactive.

 _She’s..a....mechanic._ Bumblebee tried to keep his EM field neutral and his body calm. There was a tense silence for a while until Jazz broke it.

“She’s an organic Bee.” The heaviness in his voice didn’t sit right with Bumblebee. “They’re, not like us.” Jazz tried to put a servo on Bumblebee’s shoulder strut, but Bumblebee moved away from it. Anger and fear swelling within him. He knew Charlie was human, some nights it kept him awake that if the war didn’t take her, time would. She wouldn’t be his forever, but he would be hers. It was one of the many reasons he kept quiet about the colors. Maybe if he didn’t say anything, they would go away. The fear of losing her would go away.

 _I know._ Bumblebee hated how the recording he picked sounded as empty as he felt.

* * *

After that, Jazz and Prowl were seemingly satisfied but Bumblebee felt their optics observing him and Charlie more. Especially when he and Charlie got into fight after one of the more dangerous scouting missions where he may have taken a nasty hit for Jazz. It was his job to do that. According to Charlie it was his job to stay alive and protect the world, not to die. Her tears and the overwhelming fear that she lost him hit him like an uppercut. He focused on her humanity so much that he forgot the war he was in. He had a chance of dying too, she could lose him. That night, as he cuddled her in her alcove (as he dubbed it since that night), rubbing the dip in her back that she enjoyed, he may have thought about telling her everything, but the buzzes that came out of his throat discouraged him.

“You miss it, don’t you?” Charlie’s whisper ghosted his digit and it filled the ache but he still nodded. She turned and crawled up his chest. He shivered as he held his chest cavity close. The image of him holding her up, one servo caressing the sensitive dip she loved, as she interacted with his spark came again. He closed his optics as she climbed. Then a tremor went through him when he felt her hands near his throat. “It’s just me, Bee. It’s just me.” Charlie said calmly. He glanced at her, and she met his glance. Her dark brown eyes grounded him. He relaxed and watched her observe the hole. Her hands didn’t touch him, but he kept a servo around her. Feeling her, reassuring himself that it was just her. When she was done, she looked up to him. “Tomorrow, I want to see if I can fix this. Is that okay?” Bumblebee gave an excited nod. “I can’t make any promises.” Charlie chuckled.

 _You got the touch! You got the power! Yeah!_ Charlie laughed against his chest, her soft tan skin dusted with that rose pink as she hit him playfully. Yet the next day as she looked over him, he saw the thin tool Ratchet gave her tremble slightly in her hands and the hesitation in her eyes darkened her eyes. He touched her hand and gave her a nod. He trusted her. Hell, if he came out not even able to chirp he wouldn’t be mad at her because she gave him color, she gave him a way to communicate. She always gave. He hoped he could give her the trust he felt.

They had started near dawn, and the sun had just set when Ratchet gave a nod at Charlie’s work.

“You did good. Too long, but good.” He commented roughly.

“Well, you taught me well. Too wound up, but well.” Charlie snarked back. Then she turned her focus on Bumblebee. “How are you feeling?” Bumblebee froze for a bit, scared to even try, because what if it didn’t work? How did he even sound now? It had been a whole human year and a half. If he was honest, he forgot what he even sounded like. “Bee, you can use your radio for now.”

“I think that would be for the best. We wouldn’t want to damage Miss Watson’s work.” Charlie rolled her eyes.

“It’s Charlie, you old bot.”

“I am old, so I can do whatever I please, Miss Watson.” Charlie glared at him, her cheeks an angry pink.

“You’re so pretty.”  Bumblebee thought, but he hadn’t realized he said anything. So when Charlie turned around her eyes wide, and Ratchet smiled he was really confused. “Wha-” That’s when it hit him, he was talking. He was talking. “Charlie.” He looked at her his grill forming what he hoped looked like a smile. “Charlie, you, you did it. Charlie, you gave me back my voice.” He swung off the berth and lightly picked her up into hug. She began laughing, that rosy pink dusting her cheeks. “Thank you.” He laid his helm against hers.

“Your welcome.” That night, in the safety of his barracks he told her about himself, Cybertron, what he really thought of the Smiths (‘Seriously Charlie, how do you listen to them? You can’t dance to them.’ ‘You don’t dance to The Smiths, you feel the Smiths.’) and sometimes just her name. (‘You really like my name huh?’ ‘I love it’). That was the closest he got to mentioning the bonds. But he had time.

* * *

The next day called for the weekly meeting that everyone at the base (human and Autobot) had to attend. It was a simple meeting, and today they were going over assignments. Then Arcee was stated to be patrolling tonight. Charlie raised her hand.

“Not now Watson.” Burns leveled. Charlie still held up her hand. Burns just went on. Charlie held her hand up.

“What’s up Charlie?” Bumblebee whispered to her. Charlie looked to Bee.

“Arcee shouldn’t go out in all pink!” She whispered harshly. “It’s worse than when Ironhide was red. She’s going to get spotted by a Decepticon seeker.” It warmed him that she cared about his comrades as much as he did.

“I think Jack helps her out with that. I think he’s got a midnight blue top coat or something.” Bumblebee said this to ease Charlie and it did since she let out a huff and unfolded her arms. But the stillness grew and all was quiet. Charlie straightened once more. At first Bumblebee wondered why when he realized what he had said out loud. “Scrap.”

“What color is the top coat, Bee?” Jack ask slowly. Bumblebee glanced at Jack, his eyes were burning with anger. He knew lying was not going to help the situation, but it didn’t hurt to try.

“It appears to be a midnight blue?” He tried. Jack’s eyes narrowed as a sneer came on his mouth.

“Liar, you didn’t tell her it appeared to be midnight blue, you said it was midnight blue. You lying-”

“Hey!” Charlie stood up. “Don’t talk to him like that! And who cares about the stupid color.” Gasps filled the room as all optics and eyes turned to him.

“She doesn’t know?”

“You haven’t told her!”

“Is your head stuck up your aft?”

“I knew it!”

“Dude!” It was a lot for Bumblebee and only one course of action made sense to Bumblebee.

“Kid…”

“Bumblebee…” Burns and Optimus’ call went unheeded as Bumblebee grabbed Charlie and ran out of the base till he could drive off.

“BEE!” Charlie yelled, but Bumblebee’s processor kept going. She would want to know what happened in there. He would have to tell her everything, deal with everything he pushed down. “BEE!” Charlie pressed his brakes, forcing him to a stop. She quickly got out and stood outside her face pale with anger. “Bumblebee, what’s going on?” Her vocals were the same as when he destroyed her house. It helped him realize how childish he was being, but it didn’t make anything easier. He transformed and sat down. He didn’t look at her though.

“Charlie, I may have forgotten to mention that, for Cybertronians, when we’re created, there’s no color. No red, blue, green, or yellow. Everything is black, gray, or white. I never saw color, until I met you. And that’s special because Cybertronians only see color when they meet their sparkmate. Which just basically means I was built for you. I love you and you complete me in a way no one else does, and if I ever lost you the color would disappear. And you think the lifeless war raging gray world would scare me but the idea of a world without you, even a gray one, terrifies me and keeps me up at night. And I figured humans have something different or you would want a normal life so I didn’t want to tell you, because if we officiate the bond we’re tied together till all are one with the All Spark. Which is really long unless I die in battle, which I promise I won’t, but I know there’s challenges. Also I have fantasizes of you interacting with my spark as a I touch every dark star on your body or caress that sensitive spot on your lower back. Which are nice but what isn’t nice is how if I’m away from you too long I start, buzzing and I feel off balanced. I need you, and I know I can’t give you a normal life, or much else really but I love you and whether you chose me or not is fine because-”

“Bee.” A soft tan hand came on top of his now dented digits. She caressed the dent and focused on that. “How long have you been holding this all in?” She finally looked to him her dark eyes shining from some liquid, and he could feel the concern for him, but something else lingered.

“The night before we left. When I didn’t have my memories, I didn’t exactly know what seeing color meant, but when I got them back it all came rushing back.” He let his words sink in and looked away. He said it didn’t matter to him if she rejected him, but it did. It really did. Still he waited, and his leg began to shake a bit. The silence was broken by Charlie’s chuckle. Bumblebee refocused back to her, to see her giggling, but she was leaking from her eyes. “Charlie?” He whispered. Charlie looked at him, a sad smile on her face.

“We’re idiots, Bee. Absolute idiots.” Charlie turned around and lifted the back of her shirt. On her lower back, where she leaned in whenever he touched it, was what looked to be a simple version of a bumblebee then the ones Raf had showed him (they really did match his outfit). “This is what is called a soul mark.” Charlie tapped the mark lightly. “For humans, this mark completes itself when you meet the person who completes you. Before I met you it was just black. There was no color. When I touched you for the first time, I felt it warm up but I didn’t have a chance to look at it till after you left. Then I saw the yellow, your yellow.” Charlie let go of her shirt and turned around to face him. “But I have to admit, mark or no mark, I would still accept you. War or no war, I would still want to ride with you.” She put a hand on his chest plate, right above his spark. “Color or no color, I still want to be in your crazy life.” She smiled up at him and Bumblebee didn’t know what to say so he lifted her up to lean his helm against her. She put her hands on the sides of his helms. His optics closed, letting him relish the feel of her hands. Then she put her lips to his grill. His spark thrummed violently and his body whirred from the heat rising in him. “What do you say, Bee? Wanna try to make this work?” She asked softly. He felt the hesitancy in her and he opened his optics to gaze at her.

“It matches my outfit.” Bumblebee repeated the words Charlie had said to him when she gave him a name and it had the desired effect. She laughed but she didn’t let him go.

* * *

The sun had fully set when they went back to the base. Bumblebee knew he had to talk to Optimus. Which was fine with Charlie because she had to call her mom. Apparently what had been causing Charlie the distress that only a drive could ease was the way her mother believed Memo was her mate, while Charlie knew it was Bumblebee. Bumblebee understood her mother’s view (he knew Charlie deserved normal, or at least someone who didn’t have a job with a high risk of dying) but he was also selfish and wanted Charlie to himself. So he would do whatever it took to help convenience Charlie’s mother that he loved her. That he was made for her. Plus, he rather do that then talk to Optimus. Which was why he stopped just a few feet from the base doors.

“Bee, it’s going to be fine.” Charlie assured him, but he felt her slight fear too.

“Fine is very optimistic.” Charlie rubbed her hand on his trembling steering wheel.

“Why?” He could tell that she did know a little bit of the difference of their situations, she just wanted to understand them.

“Imagine if you found out about your mark, hid it from your family, ran to find me, and never told them why.” Bumblebee said quickly. Charlie froze, her eyes going wide.

“So, you’re dead.” Charlie stated slowly.

“Yep.”

“Well, just stay cool and they might show you mercy.” She gave him a shaky smile and he couldn’t help but laugh at her poor attempt to cheer him up.

“I’ll try.” Slowly he went towards the doors, and they opened to reveal Agent Burns and Optimus Prime standing in the entrance. “Is it too late to go to your house?”

“Stay cool, Bee.” Charlie got out of his alt mode and approached Burns.

“You owe me five bucks kid.” He told her as she walked in.

“Why should I pay for your instance that you know everything when you don’t?” She smirked as she walked past him. Burns rolled his eyes and followed her in, leaving Optimus and Bumblebee alone. Now the thing that terrified him the most about Optimus was the truth-all stare. He’s seen Hot Rod and some minor Decepticons receive Optimus’ truth-all stare and it immediately broke them into rambling fits that he himself had. Bumblebee always thought if he had to face one of those stares, it would be the end of him. So far so good. Bumblebee transformed out of alt mode and faced Optimus, not a word or sound from either.

“You should have told us.” He simply said.

“There wasn’t a need.” Bumblebee said back. Optimus’ eyes narrowed.

“Your performance depends on her. It is necessary for the team-”

“If she was Cybertronian would you be saying anything?” Bumblebee interrupted angrily. No one knew when Arcee and Cliffjumper officiated the bond. Sparkmates, intimate processes were not shared or talked about. Fantasizing was one thing, but bonds themselves were a private matter.

“But she is not.” Optimus said gravely. “And you are still young. You do not know what happens even in a normal bond.” Bumblebee wasn’t angry at Optimus, just the truth that was coming out.

“Well, I’ve done pretty good with dealing with it on my own.” Bumblebee intended to walk past him, but Optimus put a servo on his shoulder strut.

“Bumblebee,”

“Don’t say that I’m not alone Optimus.” Bumblebee pushed his hand away. “No one has bonded outside of our species, but I have. So I am kind of alone in this. Or I will be. Because if the war doesn’t take her, time will. And I know this. I dread it. I know that one day, the world will turn colorless for me. I know I will have to fight just to want to live. I know this, but I will not take any of yours or the others pity. Because when I was alone on this planet with no memories, it was just me and her. We survived, without you, without any army, we survived. As long as I have her, even something as simple as a memory, we will survive.” Bumblebee finished his ranting with a glare at Optimus. He was prepared for a lashing or a stern gaze. What he got was gentle optics, and a face mask removed to show a gentle smile.

“I know.” The servo was placed back on Bumblebee’s shoulder strut and Bumblebee was too shocked to even move. “But both of you do not have to fight alone, my friend. We truly are here for you. Both of you are not alone.” The relief that flooded Bumblebee from Optimus’ words pushed him forward and he wrapped his arms around Optimus’ waist like a youngling (which he still was somewhat, he just tended to forget). Optimus stepped backward in shock, helping Bumblebee realize what he was doing. Immediately he let Optimus go and stepped back, hands up

“Oh, um, sorry Optimus.” He directed his optics anywhere but Optimus. “I’m going to, um, go apologize to the others.” Bumblebee gestured to the entrance and with a daring glance at Optimus, he could see Optimus nodding in agreement.

“As you should.” With a heavy exhale Bumblebee walked past Optimus, awkwardness still settled within him. “Bumblebee,” Bumblebee turned to face Optimus. “Is she made for you?” Bumblebee’s grill turned upward as the image of the black and yellow mark on her soft tan skin flashed in his processor.

“We’re both yellow.”

**Author's Note:**

> Here is a link to the lovely Youkaiyume's AMAZING tumblr: http://youkaiyume.tumblr.com/
> 
> And yes Cade is in here, I liked him and I could see the horribly disastrous amazing things him and Wheeljack would create. Also, I am working on the CTTA. I should be able to post the next chapter in a few hours or by tomorrow. So here's this drabble? while you wait. This is un-betaed so I apologize for any mistakes.Thanks for reading!
> 
> Songs used in this chapter: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Don't Stop Belivn', I'll Be There (Bon Jovi), Why Can't We Be Friends  
> I don't own Transformers, Hasbro, Bumblebee, any characters in this fic, nor any songs, I kind of don't own the idea either?


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